Good first knife making item?

[Redington]

Hello everyone,,,
My friend has made 1-2 knives before and for our anniversary I was thinking of getting him some things for making knives/blade. I’ve already gotten him caving tools for his birthday. Also he’s got a lathe that he got for Christmas(not sure if that’s helpful for making knives or not) his brothers also got really nice Japanese sharpening stones that he’ll have access to.

Would a torch be useful? I’m looking to spend up to $250. Can also be multiple things I can put together in a gift type basket...

[jimmontg]

Does your friend have a grinder? It's hard to recommend something not knowing what he may or may not have. I can say to buy him some high quality files like some Nicholson in 8" to 12" mill files, also throw in a half round file for curves. Some good quality wet dry sandpaper is always used same as the files. Also possibly a book or videos. I'm sure Ray Rogers, a moderator here, has some videos he's made he can recommend.

Like I said without knowing what your friend has and going by the fact that he's made a couple of knives it's hard to guess what he may want or need.

[Mawkish]

Yeah, Nicholson is a good start. I like to use it when hunting, and pair it with my Fenix LD22 Flashlight I found at https://tacticalflashlightguide.com/...d-flashlights/ and that'll be perfect.

[M&J]

Jumping in late since I just saw this.

For basics:

Wet dry abrasive sheets
hacksaw or sabersaw with metal cutting blades
files
drill and drill bits in the sizes for common pins used for securing handles
sharpening accessories be that stones or a system
respirator
safety glasses
hand protection: leather gloves, finger protectors and nitrile gloves
metal scribe
automatic center punch

Would be nice to get an update.